Iya Silifa lived in a one room apartment with her daughter for 5 months and had no idea about the growing womb. It was an amebo on the street, who called Iya Silifa one day and said, “Iya Silifa, se o ri wipe omo e ti fera ku ni”. Iya Silifa was angry and insulted the woman, calling her a jobless idiot who was ever poking nose in other people’s business. Despite the outburst, Iya Silifa decided to start watching her daughter and she soon realised from signs that her daughter was truly pregnant.

The onlookers and gossipers waited impatiently for the animal that would come to claim the child as his own. People wondered what was enticing about Silifa to the man; she was just a child, a dirty one for that matter. Asides from the fact that she was chubby, every part of her body pointed her out as child, her breast actually grew bigger because of the pregnancy.

Iya Silifa at first cried rape, but Silifa countered that story, apparently it was not a onetime affair and some people said she was not sure who was responsible for the pregnancy as she had slept with more than 1 man.
Silifa went back to life as she knew it after the birth of her child. After all she was still a child herself. The responsibility for taking care of Silifa and her child whose father’s name was never mentioned or known was on her mother.

The child was a cute one and everyone loved to carry him whenever they visited Iya Silifa’s stall to grind pepper. If you do not know the story, you just assumed the child is Silifa’s younger brother.
The incident had almost been forgotten until 2 years later, at the age of 15, Silifa was pregnant with another child and the tongues starts to wag again but this time the father is known. He was the mechanic’s apprentice down the road.

Not surprised. It is happening within our neighbourhoods. Sad indeed, but every child needs to be enlightened on the need and how to flee from predators who take advantage of their vulnerability for sexual molestation.

not surprised there is going to be a second child. There's not much to be done when a child becomes sexually precocious at a young age - especially when you don't have education or future career goals to distract them from the temptations of sex.

Iya Silifa no try at all. this family is a replica of how family life has denegerated in our society...daughters have "opened" eyes even before puberty and mothers don't seem to have a clue of what their roles are...SMH

Blessings....There is no other word for it, RAPE, no matter how one swings it, tell it, shape it, defend it, justify it, its RAPE. Sadly it continues what is this young woman to think of herself when her violation is so accepted. Sad state of things and unfortunately all to common.